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Vlindrel:Worlds Away From Home
---- ---- ---- Tate rubs the side of his head a little as he walks from the bathroom and down the hall, having only woken up moments before. Since graduating highschool about four months ago he hasn't done much, just worked on the farm, hung out with the few of his friends that haven't moved on to college, and though he's more well-read on his sister's notes on witchcraft, he hasn't been able to actually accomplish any of the spells she seemed that seemed to come naturally to her. Outside of figuring out how to brew a few inconsistent potions with the little ingrediants available, he's made little supernatural progress, not that it matters since absolutely nothing has happened since the nights of the skinwalker a year ago. As Tate makes his way to the stairway he can hear talking from downstairs, someone is speaking with his parents. Tate: He pauses halfway down the steps, sitting down as he looks through the railing towards the kitchen table to see who his parents are talking to. Loki scampers up behind him and crawls up the back of his shirt, sitting on Tate's shoulder and looking in the same direction Tate, curious to see what he's looking at. Mr. Goldberg: He's a balding man who looks to be in his late forties. He's wearing a business suit, and in front of him on the table is a black suitcase full of materials. Well that's why I agreed to our meething this morning, to personally explain to you why your monthly house payment will continue to rise. He looks to Mr. Lawless. The Real Estate market has seen a resurgence in the passed year and continues to boom with no signs of slowing down. Furthermore, Riverside itself is one of the fastest growing areas in the country, which means that the property values sky rocket, meaning higher taxes and higher premiums. Jude: Tate's mother rubs her forehead. So you're telling us that the country's economy is doing so well that we have to pay more? Jason: He's standing a few feet from the table. As always he has an unreadable expression, slightly stoic. It's fine Jude. All of these rich yuppies moving in prefer local farm-to-fork "organic" poultry and beef. We have the money to pay for the rising taxes, it's understandable. Mr. Goldberg: He looks almost displeased by Jason brushing off the increasing costs of their land. You may be able to afford the cost of living here for now, but the bank has the power to raise your monthly payment as the value of the property rises, in addition to taxes, as per your loan agreement. He looks to Tate's dad. We're concerned with our investment and your ability to continue payment.He slides the paper across the table towards Tate's mom. These are our projected property inflation values over the next three years. He looks to Tate's father. The numbers on it are exorbiant. Jude: How the hell is this legal? She looks at the paper. Mr.Goldberg: The loan you agreed to when purchasing the property clearly stated that under circumstances where the value of the land increased, the bank reserves the right to increase the monthly payment as well. Furthermore, the bank doesn't set the taxrate on real estate, Ms. Lawless, the state and county do... If you can't afforf the monthly payment we are prepared to buy this land from you for the initial price you were willing to pay, minus the remaining deficet on your loan of course. Jude: The price of land is going up, but the bank is unwilling to buy it for more? That's nonsense. She looks at him with an unamused stare. I'm not an idiot Mr. Goldberg, I know that when the value of something increases that doesn't mean you sell it for the same amount. Mr. Goldberg: He cuts her off at the end. There is a massive, dangerous, sinkhole at the edge of your property, and the possibility of more appearing makes this land undesireable to most repective buyers. Jason: So if I'm to understand this right, the value of the property is skyrocketing because of the economy and surrounding real estate values going up, but actually plummeting because there's a hole in the ground on our lot. He sounds almost sarcastic in the way he says it. Like an older version of Tate. Mr. Goldberg: You seem to be in quite the financial pickle, Mr. and Ms. Lawless... Jason: Raise the payment, if we have to dig a little into our nest egg and buy up some more cattle to make more to pay it, then that's the way it's going to be. He shrugs a little and takes another sip from his coffee. Mr. Goldberg: I hope you don't regret this, Mr. Lawless. Our offer to buy only lasts for the week. He puts a paper with the amount of money the bank is willing to pay onto the table, then slams his suitcase shut and stands up. Tate can see that he's a rather short, hunched, little man. After which the bank will raise your monthly payment. He snaps the locks on his suitcase and pulls it off the table. Jason: Well, since I can still afford to live here, I'll escort you off of my property, Mr. Goldberg. He pushes off the counter and walks the accountant out of the house. Tate: He finally walks down stairs and looks to his mom. I thought you and dad said you weren't having any problems paying for this place. Jude: She sighs and leans back. We weren't... She picks up the paper the accountant left and looks at the amount the bank is willing to pay. But last month the payment doubled and the taxes went way up. Tate: Well we can't sell it. This is our home. He looks outside in the direction of the sinkhole. He's getting a nagging feeling that this is somehow about that supernatural pit. Jude: We might not have a choice. She reads the paper up and down. Your dad and I moved out here to get away from rising costs of living, but they've followed us here. She takes a sip of her tea as she reads the page over. Jason: He walks back into the kitchen after a moment. How much are they offering? Jude: Not enough that we could move and buy a new farm. If we did move it'd have to be out of state, far from here. Tate: That's not happening. He looks at his dad. Jason: We still have time to think about it Tate. We agreed that you could take a year off, but you're still going to college next year, you won't even be living here. If we sell the place it wouldn't have an impact on you, son. Tate: Of course it'd have an impact on me, I grew up here. Jude: You've changed your tune this passed year, you know that? She leans back, putting the paper down. You used to hate living on a farm. Tate: He looks to his mom, then looks down, thinking about his sister, the sinkhole, and hanging around on the farm with friends during his high school years. Well... I... A lot's happened since then. Jason: We have time to think about it. He picks up his coffee and takes another drink. Now go get dressed, you were supposed to be up two hours ago to help me fix the barn doors. ---- Later that afternoon... ---- Tate, Ahiga, and Hunter are at the local Arcade, the "Trevi Zone". With the boom to the local economy it's recieved a number of addons, like game shops, hobby shops, more food venues, a large bowling alley and is now directly connected to the theater next door, which itself has been rebuilt into a multiplex. Ahiga: Yeah that guy's been by my house too. He's stitting there with a large soda. There's a large pizza that's half-finished at the center of the table. My dad blew a gasket and ran him out of the house. He smirks a little. I'm getting a bad feeling about it, ya'know? Like someone whats to buy up our land to use the sinkhole. Tate: Yeah I had that same feeling. He holds a pepperoni up to his shoulder and Loki crawls out of his hoodie and grabs it nibbling it down almost like a squirrel. That rat's just there at someone else's behest, and that someone wants the sinkhole. I can practically feel it. Hunter: He's not eating the pizza, rather, he's eating from a large box of salted raw beef. There's a new resturant here called "RAW" that specializes in preparing raw meats and other foods as part of a new wave "organic" food craze. He grabs a plastic fork and stabs it into the raw beef like a knife, making it obvious that he rarely uses a fork to eat. Father tells me that Hellmouths are priceless. He shoves a large amount of the food into his mouth, a bit of red juice running down the corner of his mouth as he chews. He suddenly speaks while chewing his food. Tho thelling it woulf be Thtupid. Ahiga: A slight look of disgust passes over his face as he sees the way he eats and he looks away from Hunter. Well my dad doesn't plan on selling. My grandpa bought that land when he was barely older than me. The only reason we owe anything on it is because that fucking skinwalker that killed all our cattle. We had to take out a new mortgage to pay off the fees for the sinkhole and buy enough livestock to get the farm going again. Tate: That happened almost exactly a year ago today. He picks at his pizza, feeding another pepperoni to Loki. Ahiga: Yeah, I was thinking about it this morning. Tate: I think the thing that annoys me is all that weird shit happened and then we got nothing for like a year... I thought more weird shit would pop up like that with the sinkhole being there. Ahiga: Yeah, I know what you mean. I'm kind of glad that has happened though. I don't need another skinwalker attack in my life... Ever again. He looks away, putting his hand to his mouth as he remembers those nights. Kira: Well that's what happens when you're made into off-screen supporting characters that don't even have a speaking role. She's walking up to their table with Odie. It happens the best of us. Mainly me. Odie: He looks at what Hunter is eating. How's the grub? Hunter: Too salty. He scoops more into his mouth and chomps down on it greedily. Odie: He looks to Tate and Ahiga. You guys ready to go? Ahiga: Yeah... Hey you think Murdoc could look into something for us? He looks to Odie. Odie: Like what? Nothing is happening here, this town's basically a dead zone these days. Murdoc's planning on retiring and moving to Vegas or something. Ahiga: We think someone's trying to strongarm our parents into getting them to sell our farms, probably because they want the sinkhole. Kira: Well it's obvious who the hell that would be. She leans on Odie. That rich family that's buying up everything. She looks to Odie. You don't need a detective to figure that out, genius. She looks back to Ahiga and shakes her head. Odie: He looks at her for a moment. She's right, Natalya wants all of the hellmouths in the area. It was only a matter of time until she found out about the sinkhole. Ahiga: Maybe I can talk to Chris about it... Odie: I trust Chris about as far as I can throw him. Hunter: He looks to Odie and then shoves a big chunk of beef into his mouth. Whith ithn't very far... Odie: I'm doing that workout routine Coty set up for me. He flexes his arms. I'll be as buff as Chris in no time. Ahiga: He looks at Odie's bicep. Maybe you should quit while you're ahead, Chris is like double your weight in muscle alone dude. Your superpower is freezing stuff and being a weeb, not super-strength. Odie: He rolls his eyes and drops his arm to his side. Kira: Yeah well, he beats Chris is other departments. She raises an eyebrow at Ahiga. By a country mile I might mention. Ahiga: He looks a little paler, knowing what she's probably implying. Well... Umm... Anyway it couldn't hurt... To, you know, ask him. I'm still his friend from when we played football together. Odie: How about I talk to some people I know, see if we can't figure out who is behind all this, sound good to you? Ahiga: ...Uhh, yeah, alright... Thanks man. Odie: And look, if anything weird happens you know you guys can give me a call. A pulls out a small cellphone. You have my number, right? Me and Murdoc can take care of almost anything. Tate: He suddenly stands up. Yeah, we got it. He pulls out his own cellphone to check, just in case. Ahiga: How the hell does everyone have a cellphone except me? He looks at Tate's and then to Odie's. Odie: Because we're marching into the new millenium. He's looking down at his cellphone. Don't feel bad man. If something happens just send up some of those smoke signals and I'll come running. He looks to Ahiga with a grin. Ahiga: He back at Odie, obviously unamused by the joke. Tate: Let's get going. My dad didn't want me out all night. He sees Odie's number and then puts his phone away. ---- Later, after midnight... ---- It's around one in the morning and a dense autum fog has descended upon the two farms as night has settled. A sudden blood-curdling scream pierces the quiet night, echoing across the fields and resonating throughout the cold fog. The sound immediately pulls Tate from his sleep, it's pitch and intensity unforgettable to him. It's the same sound he heard nearly a year ago, when the skinwalker's beasts mangled their cattle. Tate: He immediately sits up in bed after having woken up, a chill running down his spine as his heart begins to pound in his chest. Loki is already at the window, looking outside. Tate looks outside for movement. As Tate is looking out the window he sees movement. Ahiga is sprinting across the field from his house, the fog dividing away from his path as Dzeh runs beside him. It looks like Ahiga is carrying his shotgun, and Tate can just make out the antlers on his head. The fog continues to split ahead of him Tate: Ahiga? Loki scratches at the window a few times as he sees Ahiga running to the barn. He quickly reaches over an grabs his phone. You're supposed to wait you idiot! Loki leaps off of the windowsill and scampers across the bed, over Tate's desk, and then leaps to the doorknob, turning it and pulling the door open a little before falling onto the floor and squeezing through the openning. Loki! Wait! Tate leaps out of bed, grabbing his phone and pulling on a pair of jeans as he hops after Loki. He grabs his beanie off his dresser and then runs down the hall after his familiar. Jason: As Tate passes his parent's room his dad's voice calls out to him, the door partially open. You hear that Tate? Was that the cows? Tate: It didn't sound like the cows. He pauses, thinking of a quick lie. It sounded more like one of those stray cats, I'm gonna check just in case. He pulls his wand from his beanie and flicks it. Jason: You want me to come with you? Tate: I'm an adult! I can handle walking out to the barn! He says it with a tone of fake irritation to keep his dad from following after him, then runs down the rest of the hallway and doesn't say another word, not waiting for his dad to respond. In moments he's out of the house and running across the field towards the barn, pointing his wand out in front of him to light his way. He dials Odie's number and it rings a few times before its finally answered. Odie: Tate? He obviously sounds tired. Tate: Something's happening Odie, you need to get down here right now! He nearly trips for a moment. Ahiga: As Tate reaches the barn he sees that the front doors have been ripped open, the lock torn right out of the wood. Ahiga looks back at Tate for a moment and then turns, walking inside. Tate: He calls out in a loud whisper. Wait! We should wait for Odie! Ahiga! Odie: Don't do anything stupid! I'm on my way! He hangs up. Ahiga turns the light in the barn on and Tate can see Dzeh standing near the entrance, slowly walking down the ailes and passing the stalls. The cows are making quiet distressing sounds as the spirit stag moves passed them, but otherwise everything is quiet. As the stag reaches the back of the barn it stops and looks back to Ahiga. Ahiga: He slowly walks into the barn and looks around. There's nothign in here. Tate: What? He walks closer to the barn's entrance and then looks back outside. He sees a car speeding down the hill from the housing tract and towards the farm. I think Odie's almost here. He turns and looks back into the barn. Ahiga: He moves into the barn, looking around as he does until he reaches one of the back stalls. He sees that the cow's neck has been ripped out, and the stall is full of blood.' One of the cows is dead, but whatever killed it is gone. ' As Ahiga is looking into the stall, a thick snake-like tail darts down, a translucent blade extending and stabbing into his shoulder. Ahiga immediately goes slack and falls down, paralyzed by venom. Tate: He tilts his head for a split-second as he sees it, then immediately calls out. Above you! AHIGA! Loki squeeks loudly from Tate's shoulder, sounding almost like a little dog's howl. Dzeh immediately forms from the translucent mist around Ahiga, leaping up and headbutting the the tail away, but he's obviously too late. In an instant the tail swings back and snaps at the Stag like a whip, and with a shattering crack, Dzeh blasts apart into mist as the tail vanishes from view. A humanoid creature suddenly bursts from the upper loft of the barn and lands behind Tate. Its tail darts out and wraps around Tate's ankle, immediately pulling his leg out from under him and lifting him upside-down until Tate is face to face with the creature. A deep voice rumbles up and out the creature's mouth. I had a feel'n you two were a bit more than human. Tate: What the fuck are you?! The moisture in the air ripples into the end of it in a dim flash and then a barrage of water blasts bursts forth and slams into Chris's head. The creature's head jerks around with uncanny speed and he shakes Tate back and forth causing each shot to miss him. Ya'know I heard your sister was a powerful witch. Guess it doesn't run in the family. He whips Tate around and slams him into the ground, knocking him out cold. About a minute passes before Tate regains consciousness, his body is stiff and numb and he can't move at all. He's almost completely paralyzed, only able to move his eyes and breath shallowly. He's still being held upside-down as Chris holds him by the ankle with his tail. As he swings back and forth Tate can see that the creature dragging Ahiga. Ahiga has his eyes open, but like Tate he can't move. Tate: He tries to say something , but he can barely breath, and all that comes out is a quiet choking sound. Loki has climbed up Tate's leg and is biting at Chris's tail, but his little teeth can't pierce the armor-like scales. The creature's tail grows longer and holds Tate out and over the edge of the sinkhole. You two go missing and I don't have to worry about anything. Odie: Put 'em down Chris! Safely! He has his revolver raised, pointed at Chris. He's a good fifty feet away, breathing heavily from running across the field. These are armorpiercing shells -custom made, Just for you! Chris: You two made this messier than it needed to be... He turns his head to look at Odie, unnaturally turning it almost entirely around like an owl would. You think your six little bullets are going to do anything to me? Odie: I think if I splatter your brains all over this field you'll change your tune quick! Chris: Guess I better drop 'em then. He swings his tail throws Tate over the edge of the sinkhole. The paralyzed witch flies like a ragdoll down into the darkness. He throws Ahiga in after him and then turns to look at Odie. As Tate and Ahiga silently fall into the darkness, there's a sound of gunshots. A few seconds later there's a screaming golden light that tears across the shrinking circle above them. As the sounds and light dissapear, both of them lost consciousness. ---- An indicernible amount of time later, and a world away from home... ---- Consciouness finally graces Tate again for a moment. He's stiff and can't move, but something is moving him. Above him are black pinetrees set against a strange dark green night sky. After a moment he can't keep his eyes open, and he loses consciousness once more. Tate opens his eyes again, still being moved. Ahead of him is a huge thing in a heavy fur coat, pulling him in a rickety wagon. The strange sky has been replaced with a stone ceiling. The paralyitic poison from Chris has worn off, but he's wrapped in a heavy net made of thick leather and metal twine. Tate feels heavy and tired, barely able to maintain consciousness. With the venom out of his system, he can now feel how much pain he's in, and there's a taste of blood in his mouth. His legs and ribs hurt and he cane barely breath. Tate: He lays there in confusion, trying to look around and make sense of what's happening. As Tate looks around he can see Ahiga, laying in the small wagon right beside him. He's wrapped up in the same kind of net. His face is covered in cuts and bruises, and one of his eyes has swelled shut. His blood stained shirt is torn at the sides where a few long cuts have been bleeding profusely. As Tate looks himself over can see that he's in the same boat as Ahiga, bruised and cut up, like he's taken the beating of his life. Without warning Tate suddenly loses consciousness again. A young female voice breaks Tate's slumber, the muffled tones soft and with a slight european accent. What has this place done to you... She sounds worried. As Tate opens his eyes he can see a figure bent over him, wearing a silvery helmet that has no openings, only ornate designs across the surface. The same kind of armor is over her shoulders and upper chest, but below that is what looks like a black dress. Behind her is are steel bars, like that of an old jail cell, and the room they're in is made of cold wet stone. ...The both of you are so close to death... She pulls off her black glove, revealing a slender feminine hand with pale skin and delicate looking fingers. With her other hand she presses her fingers into a wound in the side of Tate's abdomen. Tate: Ahh! He cries out horsely as her fingers dig into him. ...What the... He struggles to breath, and his voice comes out raspy and dry. ...Hell are you doing?! She raises her bare hand over the wound and makes it into a fist. Gods willing, this Pale Blood will mend your wounds... She squeezes her hand tightly, her short white nails digging into her palm. A pink liquid begins to drip from her hand and into Tate's open wound. It stings, burning like someone is pouring hot coals into the wound, and he can feel it spreading through his veins and arteries as it radiates outwards from the area. ...May it help you survive, young stranger... The pain is overwhelming, and once again Tate starts to lose consciouness. ...For it is all I can do. ---- Hours later... ---- Ahiga: He shakes Tate awake. Tate? You alright? He's bent over Tate, looking and feeling much better. His wounds have healed completely, and aside from being a little hungry, he feels fine. Tate: He opens his eyes and looks around. ...Where the hell are we? He sits up, no longer in pain. Ahiga: I was hoping you'd tell me. He looks around the small stone cell. There's no sign of the woman with the silver helmet. Tate: What happened to that lady? He looks around again and slowly backs up until he's sitting against the wall. Ahiga: What lady? We've been the only ones in here. Last thing I remember was that thing throwing us into the sinkhole... He pauses. ...Are we dead? Tate: He puts his hand to his forehead as he tries to recall what's happened. ...Odie called the monster Chris... He thinks back, his memory clouded and dream-like. Something brought us here in a wagon... There's a single black glove laying on the floor near where Tate was laying. Tate: There was a girl in a mask or something... In here with us... He reaches over and grabs the glove, looking it over. She said something about "Pale Blood"... I think she used it to heal us... He rubs his eyes and coughs a little, his throat still dry. She said we were "close to death"... He looks around the rest of the cell. ...So that must mean we're alive. Ahiga: How did we survive the fall then? The sinkhole's over a hundred feet deep. He sits up against the wall next to Tate. Tate: He thinks for a moment. ...Your grandpa said that the Skinwalkers come up from Xiabalba... "Another world at the bottom of the pit", right? Like an underworld. He looks up at the ceiling as he feels water dripping onto his head, soaking through his beanie. ...Maybe that's where we are... Ahiga: He rubs his eyes. Well if we're not dead, I don't plan on dying here, so let's try to find a way out. He stands up and stumbles slightly, feeling a little dizzy. If there was a girl in here with us, she must've gotten out somehow. He moves to the bars and tries to look out and down the hall, but his head doesn't fit between the bars. Tate: He gets up slowly and looks around, trying to find a way out. As he does he looks himself over, his hoodie is bloodstained and cut up. He rubs his face for a moment and then looks around, moving towards the small window and looking outside. Outside is a seemingly endless expanse of black pine trees. Even though they must've been out for hours, there's no sign of the sun to be seen, only the oddly dark grey-green horizon. Tate: ...How the hell are we supposed to get back home? He looks up and around the cell again. Hey Loki? He quickly starts patting himself down, realizing that his familiar has been gone this whole time. His voice breaks as he starts to panic. Loki?! The little familiar runs into Ahiga's view, standing just outside the bars. Ahiga: He's over here. He looks down at the little ferret. You find a way out of here Loki? As Ahiga finishes his sentence there's a loud thud from down the hall, like the sound of a big door openning. It's quickly followed heavy footsteps, slowly making their way down the hall towards them. Loki: He looks down the hall and then quickly squeezes through the bars and into the cell, scampering across the floor and up the side of Tate's pant leg. Tate: What's that? He walks up to the bars and tries to look out into the hall, then takes a step back and reaches up into his beanie, then pats himself over. He whispers. I don't have my wand... Not that it matters I guess... He backs away as the footsteps get closer. Ahiga: He backs up too. Undead Jailer: A huge man, easily ten feet tall stops in front of their cell. He's wearing a giagantic heavy fur cloak that obscures most of his body, though his wide shoulders belie his powerful frame. He looks around for a moment and then turns to look into the cell with the two boys. As he turns they can see he has a huge butcher's cleaver-like sword in his hand. His voice comes out, deep and with a bit of a slurr. Fresh flesh for the Warden. His face is heavily bandaged and his mouth looks like it has no lips, and its full of black rotten teeth. He pulls out a large keyring with an oversized key on it and shoves it into the lock, turning it and then pulling the door open. He laughs a deep laugh and raises the cleaver as he walks in. Tate: He backs up against the back wall at the back of the cell as the huge bandaged man approaches. A-any ideas? His eyes go wide as he looks at the cleaver rising above them. Ahiga: You go right, I go left? He's pressed up against the back wall too, the giant man closing in. Tate: That's your plan!? Ahiga: Just go! He runs to the left of the cleaver-wielding guard. The guard turns and heavily swings the cleaver down vertically. It slams into the stone floor with a loud clang, causing sparks and dust to fly from the impact. Tate: He runs to the right as quickly as he can, adrenaline building up inside of him. Undead Jailer: ...Shtop... Flesh... He turns and swings his cleaver at as he Tate runs for the door. Tate can feel a cold rush of air against the skin on his upper back as the weapon slices through the back of shirt. Tate: He slides out into the hall, nearly falling, then immediately turns and runs towards the door the Jailer left open. Ahiga: He keeps pace with Tate. What the fuck was that thing? Tate: That's the thing I saw drag us here! Undead Jailer: Despite his large hulking size, he picks up pace and starts gaining on them. Tate: He looks back at the Jailer when he hears his loud footsteps getting closer. Oh shit! Run Ahiga, run! Faster! Ahiga: He looks behind him and then immediately tries to run as fast as he can as he sees the morbid man getting closer. Undead Jailer: Flesh freshhh! He's panting heavily as he chases after them down the long hallway. He runs through the door, waits for Ahiga to run through and then pushes the huge door shut, latching it. Then quickly looks around to see where they are. The next room looks like a huge torture chamber. There's a ton of large torture tools on big iron tables, in the far corner are big sacks hanging from the ceiling, blood dripping from them. Ahiga: He runs up and grabs a big rusty fire-poker looking weapon and looks to Tate. Let's keep moving! He runs for another door and pulls it open, quickly running down the next hall as fast as he can. Tate: He grabs a small dagger that's laying on one of the tables as he runs after Ahiga. Undead Jailer: He crashes through the big iron door, breaking it off its hinges, stumbling into the room and then looking around. He sees the door they ran through and turns to quickly trudge after them. Fresh flesh! Flesh fresh! He starts picking up speed as he chases them down the long hallway. For the Warden! Ahiga: The two of them reach the end of the long hall and Ahiga grabs at the door, pulling at it. It's jammed! I can't get it open! Tate: He runs up and tries grabbing at the handle and pulling it with Ahiga. Push! He pushes as hard as he can as soon as Ahiga does, putting his shoulder into it. After a moment the door bursts off of its hinges and the two boys go tumbling into a large outside courtyard. As soon as they get up to move a net flies out of the doorway through just ran through and falls around them. The Jailer rushes through the door and raises his cleaver. Undead Jailer: Flesh fresh! For the Warden! He brings the cleaver down towards Ahiga with a huge overhead swing. Neither of the boys can move, it's almost like the net has instantly tangled around them supernaturally. Ahiga: He closes his eyes and raises his hands to defend himself. Out of nowhere is a flash of steel collides with the cleaver, causing a booming clang to echo out through the courtyard and reverberate off the stone walls. A tall man is standing between them and the Jailer. He's wearing light armor, mostly white leather and a few steel plates, with a deep blue silk-like material wrapped around his waist and shoulders, pulled up into a hood that hides his face. His weapon is a huge sword with an extended hilt, and it's pinned the large cleaver into the ground. Undead Jailer: He lets out a deep growl and reaches out, grabbing at the young knight with a slow but heavy motion. White Knight: He leaps backwards from the slow grab, pulling his weapon back with him. It falls heavily in the dirt behind him, landing between Tate and Ahiga and cutting into the next. He then moves forwards and drags the blade through the dirt, slicing open the net as he moves, and then swings it up vertically through the jailer, slicing him right up the middle of his body. Undead Jailer: He groans for a moment and stumbles backwards as blood starts pouring down the front of him. As he falls back he pulls his cleaver from the ground and then swings it horizontally as he stumbles towards the knight, then swings horizontally again in the opposite direction. White Knight: He ducks under the first swipe and then rolls forwards under the second one, thrusting his huge weapon up into the Jailer's chest. He takes another step forwards and drives the sword-spear in deeper. Undead Jailer: ...Warden... He collapses heavily onto the ground, further impaling himself on the knight's weapon. After a moment his heavy clothing falls limply as the body that was wearing it turns to dust. White Knight: He pulls his sword-spear from the heavy clothing and then heaves it onto his right shoulder as he turns to look at Tate and Ahiga. Are the two of you hurt?